Finding Fernanda by Erin Siegal McIntyre | One child, two mothers, and a cross-border search for truth

“Baby trafficking: 10-day-old for 5,000 euros,” Emirates, 1/18/2014 “Police in central Greece on Saturday said they had arrested seven people including five Bulgarians for attempted baby trafficking. “A police operation prevented the illegal adoption of a ten-day-old baby for the sum of 5,000 euros ($6,800),” police in the central city of Larissa said in a statement. The authorities... 18 Jan 2014 No comments Read More

“Child Abduction for Adoption: Poverty and Privilege Clash as a Child’s Return to Guatemala is Blocked” A reflection on the Karen Abigail case over at RH Reality Check, by Karen Smith Rotabi: “Last year, a Guatemalan court ruled in favor of Loyda Rodriguez, who had asserted that her daughter had been kidnapped into child adoption, by ordering the that the child be returned to her biological... 26 Jul 2012 No comments Read More

Finding Fernanda in The American Prospect: “Adoption Fraud in Guatemala” On September 29, 2011, EJ Graff’s blog over at The American Prospect’s website has an entry today entitled “Adoption Fraud in Guatemala” that talks about Finding Fernanda, and the US Embassy Guatemala cables I’ve obtained. An excerpt: Last week, I discussed some of the fraud and corruption that haunt international... 29 Sep 2011 No comments Read More

Under Threat of Lawsuit, Celebrate Children International becomes “Celebrate Children” Another surprise in the latest batch of public records from the Florida Department of Children and Families: Celebrate Children International, Incorporated has shortened their name to “Celebrate Children” after another nonprofit, Children International, Incorporated, threatened them with a lawsuit. Here’s what the note in the state of Florida’s licensing file... 19 Jul 2011 No comments Read More

Mexico Adoption Bust Reveals Vast Child Trafficking Ring A child trafficking ring uncovered by Mexican police in mid-January in Guadalajara, Jalisco, has not only operated since the 1980′s, a decade earlier than previously reported, but has also provided hundreds of children to adoptive families in other countries. The story began unraveling on January 9, 2012, after 21-year-old Laura... 09 May 2012 No comments Read More

20+ Ethiopian Orphanages Reportedly Shut Down Four days ago, the US Department of State issued an adoption alert about the alleged closing of the Mussie Child Care Center (also known as the Mussie Orphanage) in Hosana, Ethiopia. The State Department said they were simply relating info from adoption agencies, expressing that there hadn’t been any kind... 25 Jul 2011 No comments Read More

Sue Hedberg of Celebrate Children International and “Florida Trend” The piece “Whose Standards?” by Amy Keller was published in Florida Trend, November 1, 2010. Click here to read the whole article, which focuses on lapses in regulation, and Celebrate Children International. For this piece, Keller asked me some questions about CCI, and also interviewed Sue Hedberg via email (among... 09 Jun 2011 No comments Read More

Book Review: “Finding Fernanda” in the Miami Herald The Miami Herald says that Finding Fernanda is “comprised of heavy-duty investigative reporting and compelling personal testimony.” Here’s an excerpt from their great review: “But the book — comprised of heavy-duty investigative reporting and compelling personal testimony — also examines another mystery: How could so many people in Guatemala and... 11 Dec 2011 No comments Read More

Book Review: “Finding Fernanda” in the Christian Science Monitor A lengthy new review in this week’s Christian Science Monitor says of Finding Fernanda, “…Reads like a mystery novel, but the facts it reveals are hauntingly true… Siegal does a fantastic job of breaking down a complicated story… “Finding Fernanda” is a gripping read that offers glimpses of hope in what... 28 Nov 2011 No comments Read More

Interview on CBS Radio News Dan Raviv, CBS Radio News correspondent, calls Finding Fernanda “a moving story” and says it will “really tug at your heartstrings.” To listen to Raviv’s interview with me, click here: http://audio.cbsradionewsfeed.com/2011/12/05/22/05CBSNEWSINTERVIEWRavivwithErinSiegal_1801_1971925.mp3... 05 Dec 2011 No comments Read More

Fighting Child Trafficking, Around the World & in Guatemala The New York Times recently published an interactive infographic by Sarah Wheaton entitled “Fighting Human Trafficking, Country by Country,” on Monday August 30, 2011. You can click on a country, and an anti-trafficking poster created specifically for that country by the International Organization for Migration (IOM) will pop up. The IOM anti-trafficking posters... 01 Sep 2011 No comments Read More

Feature Q & A, The Crime Report The Crime Report has a front-page feature on Finding Fernanda today, an in-depth Q & A about the book. The full piece is available here: http://www.thecrimereport.org/news/inside-criminal-justice/2011-11-babies-for-sale-looking-at-the-adoption-industry-in... 21 Nov 2011 No comments Read More

Inside the Investigation: On Sources, Confidentiality, & Process I’ve been doing research on Guatemalan adoptions since 2008, which grants me the privilege of having relationships with my sources that are based on trust built from repeated interviews, informal conversations, and interactions. Initially, I began general reporting on Guatemalan adoptions for my Master’s thesis at Columbia University’s Graduate School... 23 Aug 2011 No comments Read More

Mildred during one of many interviews, with her daughter Adriana

Finding Fernanda in The New Yorker “I never meant to write a book; the story simply demanded it.” The New Yorker has a blog post up featuring 16 behind-the-scenes photos taken during the reporting of Finding Fernanda. Mildred Alvarado and one of her daughters during an interview,... 12 Nov 2011 No comments Read More

Finding Fernanda among Kickstarter’s First 10,000 Successful Projects A year ago, a Kickstarter campaign in support of Finding Fernanda was in full swing while I tried to raise enough money to cover my expenses for one final month-long reporting trip to Guatemala. Within a week, so many people had chipped in that the campaign surpassed its $3,000 goal.... 09 Aug 2011 No comments Read More

Full Court Order on Return of Adopted Guatemalan Child “Karen Abigail” DOCUMENTS: Full 7/29/2011 court orders from Judge Angelica Noemi Tellez Hernández in Guatemala, ordering “Karen Abigail” returned to her birthmother (19 page .pdf). Provided courtesy Fundación Sobrevivientes. Click to download (español).... 05 Aug 2011 1 Comment Read More

“David v. Goliath, or birth mothers v. attorneys” -US Embassy Guatemala, 1996 From a November 1996 US Embassy cable: “…According to US immigration law, a child whose mother refused to voluntarily consent to an adoption clearly would not qualify as an “orphan.” As such, when a birth mother changes her mind and refuses to sign a relinquishment for the Embassy it generally... 01 Oct 2011 1 Comment Read More

“Congo suspends international adoptions, leaving dozens of children in limbo,” AP, 12/20/2013 “KINSHASA, Congo — The Congolese government has suspended international adoptions of Congolese children, following allegations that some were abandoned by their adoptive parents, while others were “sold to homosexuals.” The move by Congo further restricts foreign adoptions, following similar decisions by Russia and China.” Read the full story here: http://www.therepublic.com/view/story/6dd4ce06e9b1448eaff1935c998bff69/AF-Congo-Adoptions-Suspended... 21 Dec 2013 1 Comment Read More

Guatemalan Judge Mario Fernanda Peralta Castañeda “Captured,” Found with 15 Illegal Weapons, Charged with Trafficking At 6:00 a.m. this morning in Escuintla, Guatemala, a coordinated team consisting of agents from the International Commission Against Impunity in Guatemala (CICIG), the Ministerio Público, and the Guatemalan National Police (PNC) went to Judge Mario Fernando Peralta’s home and “captured” him, charging him with the following: “asociación ilícita, trata... 12 Aug 2011 1 Comment Read More

A Closer Look at Theresa Erickson’s San Diego “Baby-Selling Ring” A “baby-selling ring” has been busted in Southern California. Here’s an excerpt from the FBI’s announcement yesterday: “…Theresa Erickson entered a guilty plea before United States Magistrate Judge William McCurine, Jr., in which she admitted to being part of a baby-selling ring that deceived the Superior Court of California and... 10 Aug 2011 1 Comment Read More

“…The great unanswered question has been what happened to the children.” -U.S. Embassy Guatemala Excerpts from a February, 1995 cable from the US Embassy in Guatemala: “Post has been using DNA genetic testing in adoption cases for more than 18 months now, and thought it would be beneficial to share both our criteria for requesting testing as well as the results themselves with the... 28 Sep 2011 1 Comment Read More

A State Investigation of the State Investigations into CCI? Carrie Hoeppner, spokesperson for the Florida Department of Children and Families, has been dealing with my numerous public records requests since January 2009. She’s somehow managed to be professional and helpful, no matter how much I ask for. Last week, I contacted DCF to inquire about the standing of Celebrate... 02 Aug 2011 1 Comment Read More

More surprises in latest batch of Celebrate Children International documents The Florida Department of Children and Families provided 323 pages of new documents to me, containing the latest licensing information on the adoption agency Celebrate Children International. I’ve only begun sifting through everything, but this passage immediately jumped out at me from page 8. It’s information excerpted from a financial... 18 Jul 2011 1 Comment Read More

Inside the Courtroom: Anyelí Rodríguez/ “Karen Abigail” Human Trafficking Sentencing Video from Prensa Libre, reported by Antonio Ixcot, photos by Érick Ávila, video by Daniele Volpe: And here’s a long clip of the judges reading the charges and sentence, posted by the nonprofit providing free legal counsel to the mother of the stolen child, Loyda Rodríguez:... 24 Oct 2011 1 Comment Read More

Is Celebrate Children International’s License Suspended in Ethiopia? UPDATE 7/27/2011, 8:53 am: The Embassy is now saying that CCI’s is in fact still licensed. Breaking news this morning: according to the US Embassy, the Ethiopian government has suspended Celebrate Children International’s operating license. According to Celebrate Children International, this is untrue. Subject: FW: adoption/ orphanage closure Date: Tue, 26... 26 Jul 2011 1 Comment Read More

“Both alleged mothers met untimely and violent deaths soon after our investigation…” US Embassy Guatemala cable, June 1995 An excerpt from a June 1995 Cable from the US Embassy in Guatemala to Secretary of State in Washington, US Embassy Mexico, US Embassy Guangzhou, ARA Central America, American Consulate Rio de Janeiro, US Embassy Moscow, American Consulate Madras, US Embassy Bucharest, US Embassy Asuncion, & INS Washington DC. Subject: “The Integrity of Int’l Adoptions... 04 Oct 2011 2 Comments Read More

Q&A with Dawn Embrey, Caught in 5+ Year Irregular Adoption The Embrey family began adopting two young sisters, ages 4 and 6, from Guatemala in 2007. The older girl was able to immigrate to the US in 2008, but the younger girl couldn’t. Her identity had been used once before in the adoption of a third child to a different... 03 Oct 2011 2 Comments Read More

Breaking: New Charges in Yajaira Noemí Muyus kidnapping for adoption case Today, International Commission Against Impunity in Guatemala (CICIG) released a statement today about progress in the “Yajaira Noemí Muyus” case. Juzgado Duodécimo de Primera Instancia Penal charged Guatemalan lawyer Juan Carlos Pinillos García and Procuraduría General de la Nación (PGN) official César Augusto Galicia Prera with conspiracy and trafficking in relation to the... 08 Jul 2011 2 Comments Read More

Florida Family Files Lawsuit Against Celebrate Children International; Alleges Misconduct Adoptive parents Jeanna and Michael Malota filed a lawsuit on September 21, 2011 against Celebrate Children International (CCI), the adoption agency in my book, Finding Fernanda. The Malotas have accused CCI of false reporting, saying that the agency had hidden the fact that one of the children they offered to the... 03 Oct 2011 3 Comments Read More

Associated Press reports US “won’t return adopted girl snatched from Guatemalan mother;” Loyda Rodríguez may sue Today, the Associated Press reports, the spokesperson for Guatemala’s Ministry of Exterior Relations, Celeste Alvarado, stated that the United States has presented a diplomatic note refusing to return the child now known as “Karen Abigail” to her mother in Guatemala. The objection, the AP reports, is based on the fact... 15 May 2012 4 Comments Read More

SPECIAL CBS 48 HOURS INVESTIGATION “PERILOUS JOURNEY” FEATURES FINDING FERNANDA

WATCH THE FULL SHOW HERE: http://www.cbsnews.com/videos/perilous-journey/ Saturday, January 18, 2014, at 10:00 p.m. ET/PT, the investigation and the book “Finding Fernanda” will be featured in an hour-long CBS special episode of “48 Hours” called “Perilous Journey.” Featuring investigative journalist Erin Siegal McIntyre, Betsy Emanuel, Mildred Alvarado, Alvarado’s children,…

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Meet the Author: Erin Siegal McIntyre

Meet the author: Erin Siegal McIntyre

Erin Siegal McIntyre is an American photographer and writer. She is a Senior Fellow at the Schuster Institute for Investigative Journalism, a Soros Justice Fellow, and a Redux Pictures photographer. She was a 2008-2009 fellow at the Toni Stabile Center for Investigative Journalism at Columbia University’s Graduate School of Journalism. Erin…

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SPECIAL CBS 48 HOURS INVESTIGATION “PERILOUS JOURNEY” FEATURES FINDING FERNANDA

National Investigations

Meet the Author: Erin Siegal McIntyre

About Finding Fernanda

Parallel Kidnapping: Anyelí's Story

Fraud & Trafficking In the News

Reports on Adoption

SPECIAL CBS 48 HOURS INVESTIGATION “PERILOUS JOURNEY” FEATURES FINDING FERNANDA

National Investigations

Meet the Author: Erin Siegal McIntyre

About Finding Fernanda

Parallel Kidnapping: Anyelí's Story

Fraud & Trafficking In the News

Reports on Adoption

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